The Queen to His Heart
by Megan S Lox
Summary: Ever notice that every girl magically swept into Gotham always gets a lucky beginning?Well that didn't happen for the new homeless girl on the streets.Sam wakes up to a hard new reality,going from a small town to big Gotham 5 years after TDK.She'll make new friends,enemies,and a new lover? What harsh discoveries will Sam make about herself? And what has Gotham done to her? Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

** AN: This is my first attempt at a Dark Knight fanfic, so please be critical, give me advice but please don't be mean about it. If you have little ideas that you would like to see me include then please tell me and I will do my best. Small and somewhat random events could be funny and make the chapters longer. I know this chapter could seem a little boring but the Joker will come in relatively soon. I want to try to develop her character a little before he makes his grand appearance.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gotham City, like a lot of people have been given the right to, and I believe that is the only DC reference that I make in this chapter.**

**The Queen to His Heart**

"Where am I?" the woman looked around the outside of the dirty building she had just woken beside. Somehow she had wound up on a pile of garbage, outside what looked like some old restaurant or club, but where was she? The smell was already awful and her head felt like her brain had been through a blender, but somehow the breeze managed to make it even worse. The sound of paper blowing over and over again against the concrete wall made her want to open her head up and let the brain smoothie out into the open trash bag between her legs.

Without her permission a hand swept out and grabbed the offending paper before the wind could help it retreat again. It was just trash, a dirty newspaper from a few days before, but her eyes would not leave the front page. There on the cover, was the most impossible thing she had ever seen; this paper had to be a fake.

Her name was Samantha Lovetts, an animal rights activist who worked at the county prison on the side. For six years she had served as a secretary of sorts at Vacant County Correctional in Vacant County, Illinois, and before that she went to school, kindergarten and up, at the public school. Now she was twenty-five and clueless to how she had gotten here. Vacant County was just like it sounded, vacant. Nothing was there besides farms and small local businesses, but this place...it looked like a city slum straight out of the movies.

Life could not get any weirder; the newspaper was for a place called Gotham City. The only place that came to her mind wasn't even real, and even if this newspaper wasn't a fake she was nowhere near her home. What was a person supposed to do at a time like this? All she had was her pajamas, no phone or ID, how was she supposed to prove she was lost and from some small podunk town?

She had heard a lot of rumors about city folk, and none of them were too kind. In Vacant, most people related to every Country song on the radio in some way or another, but from what she had heard about city people, they were like nothing she had ever dealt with. Rude, distant and stingy were some words that came to mind when she thought of the dirty city. Maybe that was wrong though, there had to be some nice and mean people everywhere.

Samantha shook her head to throw away her nagging thoughts and looked around her again. Why was she still sitting on these bags of garbage? She quickly hopped up and tried futilely to wipe the gunk and sludge from her back and butt. A shiver ran through her, she had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't even realized how cold it was outside. Gingerly she tried to step away from the bags and find her way to the front of the building. Looking down she remembered with remorse that it would be considered weird to wear shoes to bed. Her feet were so cold that she couldn't even feel it, no wonder she hadn't realized how cold she was lying down.

"Maybe I could get some help from someone inside," she muttered quietly to herself. She looked young for her age; maybe someone would mistake her for a lost kid. Those city people on TV always looked older than they were, and she had the advantage of being shorter than average.

Managing to avoid stepping on all broken beer bottles, Samantha reached the run down front of what turned out to be a bar. With a giant shove she managed to push open the thick metal door. The place was nearly empty except for one burly man cleaning the counter in the back, and a couple of scrawny 'men' playing some card game on a corner table. Well this is straight out of some movie scene she thought as she tried to look as pitiful as she felt; guys were always suckers for that right? Helping a damsel in distress?

She could feel their eyes on her as her numb body made its way to the counter. The bartender didn't give off the funny vibe that they do on TV. He looked rough and tough and was smoking on some grimy looking cigar. As she got closer and could see the features of his face, she could make out dark, cold eyes and scruff way past a five o'clock shadow. This man scared her. All those years she had been working with the prison system and not a one of the inmates ever posed as a threat to her. They were all men full of regret and angst, waiting until their punishment was up so that they could rejoin what was left of their families. This guy, though, he looked like he could kill his family and carry on cleaning that counter and puffing that cigar.

"Hey doll, what's a thing like you doing in my closed bar? Prostitutes don't get no free hand outs ya here?" He had his eyes pressed firmly on her body. With embarrassment she realized her once loose sleep wear must now be stuck tightly to her figure. No wonder she wasn't tripping over her pant legs.

"I..um I'm not a prostitute," Sam cleared her throat in an attempt to sound braver than she felt, "I'm lost, can you tell me how far I am from Illinois?"

The bartender barked a degrading laugh and threw his head up in the air. Sam ducked her head feeling completely out of place, her eyes moved down to the crude writing on an ill kept name tag attached to the man's shirt. Kirk Belving, it seemed like a normal enough name, why did he have to be so abnormally rude?

"Why was that so funny?"

"Women, always have to come in here with crazy stories," Kirk shook his head with a look of pure cruel amusement on his face, "Here, I'll give you this box," Half of his body disappeared into a back room, "Its big enough for your little ass, now I suggest you put you and this box on the corner and make yourself useful,"

Samantha looked at him with horror gracing her face, "I told you I'm not a prostitute!"

With a sneer Kirk looked her over a few more times, "Well honey you might want to start being one," His laugh barked out again, making the guys playing cards jump and knock the money to the ground, "You could bring in a nice penny,"

With a flash of anger, Sam grabbed the box from the bartender's hands and walked back out to where she had woken up. Looking forwards, she noticed a small space between two fences right behind her bed of garbage. It was just big enough for the box and she was hidden from every side except right in front. She didn't feel safe out here, from what she had read, she was in a dark alley. Weren't those supposed to be dangerous?

With a sigh of defeat, Sam slid the box against the wall and made her best attempt at getting comfortable after she crawled in. She still had no idea where she was, or even how far away here was from her home. She had no food or water and she needed new clothes and a shower badly. She had never been a girly girl and right now she was grateful for that much. She had always been the girl who wanted to go fishing and get dirty wrestling the fish into mud to get the hook out of its mouth. Now that she thought about it, she guessed it was a little weird that she loved animals and supported animal rights, but she was a hardcore fisher and hunter. She could never be a vegetarian, she loved meat, then again many of the animals she wanted to protect were carnivores and omnivores.

What she would do for a nice juicy hamburger right now. If she had to guess she would say it was around noon and she couldn't remember eating dinner the night before. A banging noise sounded somewhere behind the bar, Sam pulled the flaps on the box closed as she heard voices coming around the corner. It was Kirk again; he was dragging a trash bag over to add to the pile. If this was a daily routine, it looked like the garbage truck hadn't been this way in months. There were a lot of plants growing on top of the concrete.

She was not going to let Kirk see her actually using the box. He had made her feel embarrassed enough calling her a prostitute; she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her bumming in his alley. He might kick her out of it anyway.

Once he was back inside, Sam wondered if she wanted to open the flaps back up. This was the hottest point of the day and it was chilly, what was it going to be like tonight? All she had was a tank top and a pair of sleep pants and they were damp from the garbage. What if she got sick and died? How would her family ever know?

What did homeless people do? Sam crawled back out of the box and used the fence to stand up. The stuff in the bag Kirk just brought out couldn't be too old or bad, maybe there was something remotely still sanitary in there. Her dad had made them take a camping trip once, all the way out in the middle of the woods to rough it, how hard could scavenging in the city be?

At least in the woods she could make a fire and cook things to kill bacteria. Digging through the bag bothered her less than it should have, she was more tormented by the thoughts of Kirk seeing her and the deadly germs his bar must have. Putting her civilized mind aside, Sam hobbled over to the bag. That box had not been comfortable, her feet were falling asleep which made walking cold and painful.

When she got around the fence, she noticed the strange shape of the bag. It didn't look very full, but Kirk had made it seem so heavy. The door opened with another bang again and Sam hurried to get back in her box. She had just managed to squeeze in and close the flaps when she could hear his irritated voice getting closer.

"Why does he always choose my bar? Noooo not the bar across the street or one of the nicer ones but mine...damn I swear this bag is heavier," Sam could hear his muttering and almost swore when the bag came close to hitting the fence near her. Again this bag looked so skinny; none of the sides were bulging in the slightest. His bar didn't give her the impression that he was a neat freak, so why weren't these bags filled to the brim with built up trash?

She watched through a crack as Kirk kicked one bag a few times and then left back around the corner. Deciding now was as safe as she might be to get out and look; Sam pulled herself out and used the fence to safely get over to the trash bags. She knelt down hearing her knees make a satisfying popping noise and lifted the side of the bag to eye level. A gasp left her lips, as Sam saw something that she could only imagine would scar her for the rest of her life.

**AN: What oh what could be in the bags? And who was this mysterious 'he' that Kirk was talking about?**

**Poll!: What should become of Kirk? Should he...**

**A) Die in some horrible way for how he treated Sam**

**B) Be a constant pain in her butt through out the story**

**C) Turn a new leaf and be a help in getting her back on her feet**

**I would love to hear some input! And please please take the time to review! Just tell me hi if its the only thing you can think of! College life can get so lonely...and I hope to make the next chapter longer, this just seemed like a good spot to stop.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: A small change is being made; now all of Sam's thoughts will be in _italics. _The poll from chapter is still open! So put your opinion in a review, your answers control the fate of Kirk! A thank you is in order for the lovely people who have already reviewed, you made me so happy that my boyfriend wanted to strangle me. Read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gotham City or anything else DC related. I do own, Sam, Kirk, the card players, and the store cashier. And Sam's box...I think it's under my bed somewhere. **

_ Those eyes those eyes... and oh God that face. It was so frightened and mangled..._

Samantha tried to control her breathing as she sat huddled tightly in her box. No wonder Kirk had acted as if those bags were so heavy, they were dead weight! Inside that bag had been a sight more terrifying than all that garbage and seeing her grandma naked combined. She could only assume what was in that second bag, and she didn't think she'd be able to stomach a peek inside. That first bag had her physically ill, it was only an hour or two at the most that she had last seen that man alive. It was one of the card players from inside the bar.

_ His face... Those eyes...they were so scared_

How could anyone do something like that? His jaws and chin were badly bruised; like he'd been forced to face his murderer, and his neck was sliced to bits almost as if the killer had been trying to cut it in half. It looked so gruesome. Was Kirk just going to let these men rot inside bags? No coffin or marked grave?

Sadness enveloped her at the thought of the families. Her family would be waiting up for days, watching for her to come home.

_ What will happen to them? What if they have wives and children and sick mothers? _Tears started flowing from her eyes as the image of a lonely little curly head girl looking out her bedroom window for her daddy to return got caught in her head. Vacant wasn't the wealthiest place to live, in fact most rural towns weren't, and sometimes the toll of poverty ways too much on a family. She found that out young in the form of her friends Maggie and Tammy Ramsey. Tammy was a year older than them and the leader when they were all three together, she wasn't afraid to say anything. Maggie was really quiet, and a big daddy's girl with long blonde curls.

They used to have sleepovers all the time when they were younger. Their mom would always have chocolate chip cookies baked before they got there, and hot chocolate with milk when it got colder. Sam could remember the exact day that had changed though. She had just gotten back from a family vacation in Tennessee and had been excited to go show her friends the cool toy horse she had gotten. When she got there, though, she never even brought it out of the bag. Tammy had dragged her into her and Maggie's room as soon as she had gotten through the front door. Sam remembered asking where the cookies were.

"Mom can't make them anymore," It had surprised her that Maggie was the one to say that.

"Dad lost his job, and he's never home anymore. Mom's been trying to feed us icky food because baking stuff is too much money," Tammy was always a little snobby and picky looking back now. They didn't see each other much after that. Sam's parents knew what was going on before she did and wouldn't let her go over there, and at the same time their mom didn't want the girls out of their rooms. Tammy probably had thought they were being punished for something.

When school had started back up in January, Maggie had been crying on the bleachers next to her. Her dad hadn't been home in weeks. She had brought a calendar to school and over the next few days she would put an 'X' on the days her dad still hadn't returned. Then one day Sam could remember not seeing the calendar. They were only in third grade, so she had forgotten as soon as class had started.

When she got home, her mom was crying against her dad's shoulder as he was looking at the paper. Maggie's dad had been found dead. He had been going out of state to gamble to pay the bills, and must have made someone mad; he had been a really lucky guy before he had lost his job.

Maggie and Tammy had to move after that, to Indiana where their grandparents live. Sam couldn't get the sight of the card player with a little curly head daughter out of her head. Why couldn't life be fair and only the bad people die? Instead it was always the other way around. Maybe that's why she was balled up in a cardboard box with sleep overcoming her; maybe it was her turn to die.

"Achoo!...Achoo Achooo!"

Sam woke up with a start. Sneezing oneself awake was never a very pleasant feeling, even less pleasant was remembering everything soon after. The temperature had dropped, possibly even below freezing, leaving Sam's body frigid. There was no way cardboard could block out the cold. With a shaky breath Sam looked over at the body bags. Those men had been prepared for the weather, thick jackets, long pants and boots, what she wouldn't give for warmth. A pang of hunger made her squirm uneasily in her cramped accommodation. She hadn't eaten all day and it was getting very very dark. Looking out straight in front of her made Sam shiver. The only light she had was a crummy security light on the side of the bar. Against the dim light she thought she saw something resembling snow but she prayed that it was only bugs.

Letting out a few more sneezes, Sam stared longingly at the jacket she could see through the small opening. It was so very wrong, but she couldn't suppress the urge to snatch it. She had suddenly been thrown into a position where her mind was split in two. Should she risk dying with a clean conscious at the hands of the cold or should she give in to her survival instincts and steal from a poor dead man?

_ It's still stealing... What's worse than stealing from the dead, they're supposed to be respected right? But he's not using it anymore. But can I look at him? What if I throw up on his face, he might haunt me! He wasn't nice to me living... maybe...maybe this could be like some sort of redemption for him. He didn't try to help me earlier, but now he can keep me warm...I can try_

Getting out of the box was even harder this time; her whole body was stiff and frozen and her toes looked blue. Deciding the fence made a really good crutch, Sam managed to get around the fence and kneel down in front of the regular looking trash bag. Taking a deep breath Sam slid the top of the bag between two of her fingers and pulled it up. With a sigh of relief she realized that she could barely make out the face in the dark.

Landing on her hands and knees, Sam crawled over to the other side of the bag and began pulling. She didn't think she could handle touching him to pull him out. Having to squeeze his flesh would surely make her give in to the cold. Feeling his body move with the bag, Sam stood up and quickly pulled the bag away from him. Bracing herself as her stomach lurched; she tossed the bag onto his head and out of sight.

She was glad his body was so thin. It made avoiding touching his flesh easier. With her foot she tilted his body and slid the jacket off of his shoulders. Holding it up she gave it a hesitant sniff. It smelled of leather and some sort of cologne. Slipping it on, Sam waited for it to start trapping her escaping body heat before she kneeled down to take his boots off.

_ Oh Lord I forgot about socks_

Here was another dilemma. Did she put on a man's smelly socks or tear the back of her feet up?

_ Well I can't afford any small luxuries right now..._

Reaching down again Sam pulled off the first sock. Looking it over it looked relatively cleaner than what she expected for a man's sock. Bringing one foot up into the air, she slipped the sock on and folded the extra at the top. She slipped her foot into the boot and then put on the other sock, catching herself from falling with the fence.

Her hand flew to her stomach as it growled ferociously. Well she had one problem down. She was still cold but it was manageable now, but now she needed to find something to do about food. Looking down at the body at her feet she felt a tear fall down her cheek. This was the first time she had really seen a dead body and she had just stolen from it. What was wrong with her? She felt so bad surviving when he didn't and she didn't even know the man.

Subconsciously she slipped her hands into the jacket pockets and felt her hand hit a solid object. Wrapping her fingers around it she pulled it out to see a brown wallet with a purple and black ribbon tied around it. Staring at it blankly she started to tug at the ribbon lightly.

"Wha...?" What kind of person puts a ribbon on their wallet? It obviously wasn't intended to be a gift; it was very worn down. Giving it a hard tug she pulled the ribbon off and stuffed it in his, no her pocket. Cautiously she opened the worn fake leather and saw it was empty except for a few dollars. She gingerly pulled out the three fives and stared as the ends of the bills moved with the flow of the breeze.

An unwelcomed feeling was coming over her and she closed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the greedy thoughts ringing in her head. Slowly she opened one eye to glance at the second bag. Her mind was instantly trying to rationalize and defend the urge to loot his body too. She could use all the money she could get; she needed food, and his clothes could be used to cushion and warm the box.

She had laid a shaky hand on the bag before she had even escaped from her thoughts. If her family could see her right now they'd probably disown her. Her eyes glanced over the body quickly and a small sigh of relief left her lips when she noticed that his death didn't look as gruesome as his friend's. She pulled off the thick jacket and dug around his pockets but they were empty. With a little bit of disappointment, she laid the jacket in the box and squished it down.

When she had walked back to the bodies, she noticed something sparkling on the ground underneath the second man. Using her foot to scoot the body over, she noticed that whatever it was followed the body as it moved. She dug her foot under his back and slowly flipped him over and saw a familiar ribbon sticking out of his back pocket.

With a grimace she knelt down and pulled at the base of the ribbon. She didn't like what she was doing, but the thought of touching a dead man's butt made it even less appealing. Yanking her hand up, the man's wallet jumped out with the ribbon. It looked like the same type of wallet, same generic fake brown leather. She pulled two fives from the folds of the wallet and shoved them into the pocket with the other three. She still couldn't understand why anyone, much less grown men, would put ribbons on their wallets.

_ "Well, I have money...now where would a store be?"_

It didn't take her long to find one. It was a small building and about to close when she slipped through the doors and quickly went down an aisle to escape any dirty looks. She was determined to make this a short trip until she saw a door leading to somewhere that her body instantly needed, a bathroom.

Somehow her body had held off the urge to potty until it was forced to remember. Finishing up, Sam couldn't help but look at herself in the mirror as she washed her hands. There was no nice way putting it, she looked like shit. Her face was filthy with grime and her eyes looked red and irritated. Before this they were such a pretty blue. The kind of eyes that changed from the lightest possible blue to the deepest darkest color of water. She scrubbed with soap and water until her face was a bright pink, and then she dipped her head all the way in to get as much grime out of her hair as possible.

Now she would have to linger in the store as long as possible. She couldn't imagine walking outside with soaked hair now that she was nice and warm indoors. Holding her head under the hand dryer had helped, but it was still a long way from dry.

Her hand felt for the money in her pocket, making sure it was far enough in and secure. She knew how to survive in the woods; the city could not be much more difficult. Her mind checked off the list of what she would need. First was water, so grabbing a small cart from the front, she loaded a twenty-four pack into it. Looking at the price made her smile a little. It was on sale for five dollars, leaving her twenty dollars for food.

She would need some meat, going through the aisles she found a box of ten steak sticks for just over four dollars. Adding them to her cart she rounded the corner to find fruit. Knowing she couldn't buy very many because of her limited money and their tendency to go bad, Sam picked up two oranges. She had water, protein and vitamin C now she needed something else to keep her energy up. Looking through the aisles again, she saw a pack of energy bars.

Pushing her cart to the check out, Sam was glad to see that she was the only person in line, meaning she only had to deal with the cashier's untrusting and uncaring eyes. Looking around her at the smaller items around the counter she almost smacked herself. One of the most important things to have while camping or stranded was fire. Reaching her hand out, Sam added a nice sized lighter to her small pile of items on the counter.

"And how will you be paying?" The snobby looking cashier asked her with a sneer on her face. Sam couldn't really blame her; she didn't know how she would treat someone who looked such a mess as herself.

"Could you tell me the total?" Sam was surprised at how scratchy her voice sounded. This wasn't her voice.

"Its eighteen fifty, need to put anything back?" The woman had resulted to curling her hair around her finger, looking at her fingers with disinterest. It was clear to Sam that this woman wanted nothing to do with her and just wanted her to leave.

"No, I have it," She forced her voice out and handed her four of the bills. Without another word she grabbed her change and bags, balancing everything on the pack of water. She couldn't understand why people were so rude here. Maybe she was too sheltered all her life. Tangled up in her thoughts about the differences between country folks and city people, Sam failed to see the can she was fast approaching until her foot landed on it forcing her down to the ground when her hands found nothing to grab.

Groaning, Sam started pushing herself off the ground, but when she looked up she froze. In front of her were two huge, shiny black eyes staring into her soul.

**AN: So what do you think? Is it acceptable? Who is locking eyes with Sam and why were there ribbons on the wallets? Do you think Sam made the right decision?**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **Sorry for the wait! School always gets hectic when I don't want it to.

I don't believe a disclaimer is necessary for this chapter but just in case it is I will add one.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing to do with Gotham City and the Batman comics.

Sam laughed quietly, the sound barely escaping her lips as she looked up into those dark muddy eyes and then those deadly white teeth. Slowly she crawled backwards, not losing sight of the dog in front of her. She knew she had to be careful, this poor dog looked half starved and its eyes were fixed on her. Every bad thing she had heard about rottweilers attacked her mind at once, she desperately tried to push them down and remember that it was only a pup.

_It's not the dog...it's the way its raised_

Repeating that thought over and over again in her head, Sam tried to calm down. The young dog was on guard; its eyes moving with Sam's hand as it inched toward the bag on the ground by her legs. Her fingers slipped in and she felt for the box of meat. Sam flinched as the box made a popping noise when her fingers broke open the flaps. Looking at the dogs ribs, Sam couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She pulled out half of the sticks, and still watching the dog, opened them from their plastic.

A giggle escaped her when the dog started sniffing the air at the release of the foods scent. Bundling all five pieces in one hand, Sam tossed the sticks at his feet. He lapped up the food with in a few seconds and started advancing on Sam. A spike of fear went through her, but then she felt a strange calm come over her. Suddenly she didn't feel scared of the hungry dog anymore, she didn't feel like it was going to hurt her.

Holding a shaky hand out, palm up, to the dog, Sam held her breath. She watched in amazement as the dog closed the distance and licked her hand with no teeth. Hesitantly she reached up and stroked the dog's ears; it seemed happy now. Letting out a playful bark, he jumped around in front of her and then bowed.

"I think...I think I should name you. How about...Dexter?"

"Rooouff!"

Sam laughed and picked up her grocery bag; now she had to wonder where to put her stuff to keep it away from the oddly friendly dog. The thought of the dog belonging to someone crossed her mind, but another look at the poor thing's ribs pushed that thought away. He was her's now she supposed, though she didn't know if she could provide for them both.

Grabbing the edge of the box, Sam pulled it away from the wall so that she could lay the pack of water behind it. Placing everything on top of the water, Sam remembered the meat and decided it was safer hidden at the bottom of her box. She wanted to get to eat some of it. Bent over the box arranging her food, Dexter's nose started persistently prodding the back of her leg.

"Hey boy," Sam cooed, petting his head with one hand while the other grabbed an orange and a couple of meat sticks. Dexter head butted her, forcing her to look at what he had in his mouth. He had firmly clamped in his mouth an old raggedy blanket covered in black and brown dog fur.

"Is that your blanket, Dexter?" Sam said as she sat down inside her box and started eating her food hungrily. Dexter dropped his blanket at her feet and laid down, watching the world outside of the box. Sam found it hard to believe how safe she felt with a strange dog lying in front of her. She hadn't felt this at peace since she had woken up in this strange place; and with a small smile playing on her lips, Sam let herself fall asleep.

"Bang!"

"Ugh," Sam woke to a stream of light falling from the sky to her eyes. Shielding them, she looked around and saw Kirk leaving the bar and passing the alley. Looking at the corner of the building, Sam got an idea. If Kirk was as dumb as she thought then maybe he had left the door unlocked.

Thrusting her hand from the box, she latched onto the fence and pulled herself out to stretch her legs. Feeling softness instead of ground through her shoes, Sam looked down and saw Dexter's blanket. It was way past worn, but through all of his shed fur she could make out a fading purple. It must have been really nice at one point in time.

_Where is he?_

Glancing all around the alley, Sam jumped when she saw him right next to her box. This dog was sneaky. Shaking her head, she played with his ears and returned to looking in the direction of the bar's back door. She wouldn't take much, just some stuff to make a sign. He was bound to have more cardboard and maybe a marker or two.

Leaving the safety of her box and dog, Sam wondered over to the back door. It was old and rusty and from the noise it made she was sure it weighed a ton. Taking a steadying breath she gripped the worn handle and got the feeling that she was falling with the door once it was opened.

Squeezing herself in she made sure the door shut with only a quiet noise escaping. She was in what looked like the storage room, and was right in assuming he had lots of cardboard boxes. Thinking about grabbing one she decided against dragging it through the bar; instead she made her way to the front and noticed a staircase that she had overlooked before.

She gave a quick paranoid look out of the foggy window nearby and silently crept up the stairs. For some reason the thought of invading Kirk's personal space excited her and gave her the motivation to open the only door at the end.

The room she walked into looked like a kitchen. Stepping further inside she noticed that she had found Kirk's apartment. Giving into temptation, Sam opened a door that she assumed led to his bedroom. Looking through the crack she had made, she glanced around making sure that Kirk didn't have any guests over.

Finding none, Sam slowly walked and stumbled on something, hitting the floor. Pulling herself into a sitting position, she looked up and saw thin, black metal piping. Backing up, she looked at the tan form sitting in the cage looking at her with a curious look in its eyes.

_What is with this city and its dangerous dogs_

The pitbull wagged its tail in excitement as Sam sat up and tried to get a paw through the cage.

"What the..." First Dexter and now this "guard" dog. Sam was tempted to reach through the cage and pet him, but quickly she decided against forming any kind of relation with him. This was Kirk's dog and the thought of anything being loyal to him was sickening.

Instead she moved toward the desk in his room and dug through the drawers until she found a black marker. Putting it in her coat pocket in triumph, Sam crept out of the room and back into the kitchen. A pantry door was slightly opened and part of a green bag poked out, drawing her attention.

Deciding it wouldn't hurt to look, and she had already dug through his drawers for a marker, Sam opened the door the rest of the way. It was filled with dog food and treats, so many that Kirk couldn't miss them if she took one of each.

Maybe he was a big dog lover and wouldn't mind Sam taking some for Dexter. He was a growing boy. Hopefully he wouldn't notice...

As soon as she had grabbed the bag of treats, a loud bark sounded from the other room. Looking over her shoulder, Sam pondered the consequences of being nice and giving in to her urges to befriend the dog.

Finding none, Sam opened the door to Kirk's room again and grinned at the sight before her. Who could really resist a face like that?


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Another chapter up! So sorry for the uhhhh two month delay, but I shall try to get chapters up quicker now that school is winding down. I also did some research on lesser known Gotham characters who may or may not make small appearances throughout the story. Until then enjoy this little chapter on the life of Hobo Sammi!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the mystery figure, or the little girl in this chapter. They belong to DC even though they are not named. Everything else except the city that this takes place in belong to me. **

Leaving Kirk's bar had thankfully been uneventful for Sam as she had made her way back into the alley with her spoils. Dexter had tried to tackle her to the ground once he had caught a whiff of the dog food, but Sam had managed to keep him down.

Now that Dexter had a pile of food to occupy himself, Sam set to work on making her sign, or signs really. On her way out of the bar, she had found a small collection of cans that she could use to prop up the cardboard. Using the flaps and sides of the box she had taken from the storage room, she wrote out signs describing how she needed to get back to Illinois and how she had no idea where she was.

It occurred to her that these people were probably used to seeing (She could barely stand to think herself the word) homeless people, and had formed a wall in their minds to prevent themselves from feeling sympathy. Running a hand through her tangled red hair, she forced it to frame her face.

If she looked pitiful enough maybe she could break through those barriers. After last night she didn't feel very innocent anymore, but these strangers didn't have to know that.

She sat by her signs the whole day, on the opposite side of the alley from where she had seen Kirk leave earlier. People never stopped to look at her. Sometimes their hands would just ease out of their pockets and drop random amounts of change into her can. A little girl with a tiger stuffed animal gave her a sucker, but even her eyes hadn't reached Sam's.

Ready to retire for the night, Sam picked up her can and inspected what she had. There was maybe a few dollars worth of change and the sucker. Its purple wrapper told her that it was mystery flavor, a gamble that picky children didn't like to make. Before she could grab her cardboard and get up, she heard Dexter barking at something behind her.

Jumping up, she squinted her eyes and could just make out her dog running after something. What that was she couldn't tell, but it made a lot of noise as it ran. Sighing and hoping that her dog was just protecting her, she turned back to her few possessions. Something new was sticking out of her can and it immediately caught her eye.

Plucking it up, Sam looked over the shiny sheath of the knife. The color purple seemed to be following her as she could just make out a deep purple shining in the glow from the streetlight. She wasn't sure why someone would give a homeless person a knife, but she'd take it. If needed, she did know how to use it. Everyone working at the correctional facility had to learn basic forms of self defense, and women were encouraged to use the exercise rooms whenever they had the time.

Sam hauled all her stuff back over to the box, and set it behind her little home. She began to worry about Dexter. How far had he chased his target? Pulling out her last orange, Sam tossed it back and forth between her hands waiting for her little protector to come back. Even though she had just met the dog the night before, somehow she just knew that he would come back to her.

A rustling of clothing shifted her attention to the opening she had just vacated causing her to scrunch up inside the depths of the box. The shadowy figure slowly walked about the alley in a lazy fashion and leaned up against the other side of the fence.

"Hmmmph," The sound came and low like a growl as the figure rattled the fence. "Is uh is this alley taken?"

Sam remained still, silently urging Dexter to get back as soon as possible. She heard a howl in the distance and couldn't shake the feeling that it was Dexter and that he wasn't too far away. Maybe he'd make it back in time to chase off this guy before he could bother her.

"Helllooooo? I know someone is in there? A cute little red head with a tiny butt...ton nose?" After getting no response the figure let out an annoyed grunt. "Women these days," Sam could hear the figure moving around and suddenly felt an irritated tapping on the top of her box. "Knock knock, I know you are in there darling...I just'ah want to talk,"

Sam let a strained hi escape her lips, and heard a low chuckle in return.

"Finally! Signs of life from the uh hobo? What's a female hobo? Hmmmm a haba, yes a haba," Sounds of pleased giggling seemed to be behind each word. "Now down to business. I am the hmmm neighborhood paper boy for all you uh all you little homeless people, so here you go, toots," A heavy thump landed outside the entrance of her box, and through the cracks Sam could see the form of the rolled up newspaper tied together by some rope.

Peering through the corner, Sam used the dim lighting to see that the man was indeed gone and opened the flaps to grab her paper. It was a few weeks old, and a page number was written in bright highlighter on the front page. Figuring that she might as well since there was no way she could read it all in this lighting, Sam untied the paper and turned to designated page.

It was some weird article that in her town would have gotten the writer and company laughed at. It said that strange people had been showing up with different forms of super powers. That was ludicrous, but what caught her attention was that these people all claimed to have no idea where they were or how they had gotten here. She definitely didn't have any form of superpowers, but that second part hit dead on. There were others showing up like her. But then she noticed something else highlighted that troubled her. All of these people went missing days after they were discovered. Gone with no evidence as to what might have happened.

Banishing any negative thoughts, Sam reached for her orange only to find it gone. Realizing that it must have slipped out when she had rushed to hide herself, Sam scolded herself for her carelessness. The man must have taken it as a "tip".

She sighed, it was the only thing she could do not to break down in frustrated tears, but she knew that wouldn't get her anywhere. Clutching the knife to her chest Sam slowly started to drift asleep as she heard the heavy foot steps of Dexter returning and the quiet "thunk" as he laid something down on his blanket.

**AN: Who was this paper boy and why did he give Sam the paper? And why did he take her orange! What could Dexter have possibly found for his master? Tune in next time!...when I can procrastinate real world obstacles again!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hey there! I am going to try to keep chapters coming fairly quickly, but that is not a promise. School is almost over, just two more finals, but I will be having the distraction that is my boyfriend for the whole month of May to.**

**I am going to introduce a new character in this chapter and I'm sorry if I screw the character up too bad.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Sam, Dexter, and Kirk, all other characters and places belong to DC.**

Sam's eyes fluttered opened. It was still dark out, but the sun was starting to filter in through the imposing buildings giving her just enough light to see the present that Dexter had laid down onto the blanket in front of her. Her dreams, still fresh, caused Sam to stare in horror at the deadly darkness staring right at her.

With a shaky hand, Sam picked up the offending gun and weighed it in her hands. It was small, but in its loaded state Sam worried about how Dexter had managed to bring it here.What if it had went off?

That's when Sam noticed the red specks scattered all over the shiny metal. Giving Dexter a quick look over proved that he was bare of any injuries. This wasn't just some gun that someone had bought to carry around in a purse...this was a **real **weapon. One used to actually hurt people, maybe even kill.

She had never dealt with a criminal who was ready to actually hurt someone. Sure most of them had guns...but they were for hunting. Most of the inmates that she had seen were in for minor things and would be released in a few years at most.

Something tickled her hand and she almost rolled her eyes at the now annoying appearance of a purple ribbon. What was with this city and the color purple? It was tied just below the trigger, so Sam clicked on the safety and carefully removed it. That made three ribbons in her pocket.

Dexter barked getting Sam's attention, and she realized that he was probably hungry. Grabbing a can from yesterday, she scooped out a healthy amount for him and remembered how much she had missed having a dog after her old childhood pooch had passed. She made sure to love on Dexter some and her fingers worked their way to his bare neck.

"Hmmmm you need a collar don't cha boy?" She found herself giggling a little when Dexter's tail started wagging excitedly.

Looking around her eyes happened upon the rope that had once been tied onto the newspaper. She couldn't deny that it looked fairly sturdy, it definitely wasn't just twine. Being careful not to choke him, Sam tied the rope around the girth of his neck. Testing it with her fingers, she had left just enough room so that he could breath, but not too much where he could get it caught on something.

"You know what boy? I feel like getting out of this alley today,"

Seeing Dexter safe and happy gave her a new feeling of hope that she hadn't had in the past few days. Moping around like this wasn't like her, where was her fire? She was the feisty antagonizer in her family, the one who loved to pick on her friends and cousins. Heck, she had even taken the job at the correctional facility so that she might get a chance to irritate the prisoners.

Waiting for Dexter to finish his food, Sam slipped the gun and knife into her pockets. Digging out a ribbon she tied her hair back and into a pony tail. Bars had food right? She couldn't remember hearing Kirk come back last night, so maybe it was safe to sneak back in and get a meal. This time when she turned the corner to reach the door she saw the sign for a store not too far in the distance. Maybe she should go in that direction later.

_Homeless people use carts. _

Her morals screamed no at the thought of stealing one, but she was going in the bar with the intention of stealing food. She almost turned back to her box, but the sound of Dexter munching happily on his dog food steeled her resolve. She had to survive. She had no one to depend on like Dexter did, she had to be the strong force.

Swinging the door open, Sam saw no signs of Kirk. If he was here, he was probably asleep in his nice little bed. She crept into the door behind the counter. His kitchen was somewhat clean, but it didn't look like much actual cooking went on. But there was tons of bread and lunch meat...and a whole cabinet of bags of peanuts.

Grabbing what looked to be a to-go-bag, Sam filled it up with five sandwiches that she quickly made and a couple small bags of peanuts. Food at her side, she was just about to leave the kitchen when she heard a commotion at the front of the bar.

"Paisley, knock it off!" She heard a man yell that sounded a lot like Kirk. Peering through the crack by the hinges of the door, Sam could see Kirk's dog sniffing around and growling at everything he smelt. What if he was sniffing her out?

She clenched her eyes shut as he came close to the door, but instead of growling he hopped up on the counter and began wagging his small tail. Sam willed him to go away as she heard someone coming down the stairs.

"Paisley, get off my counter, boy! What if a costumer came in and saw your dirty paws!" Kirk quickly swatted his dog off the counter.

She let a small breath loose when she saw him start to make his way back up the stairs. The floorboards didn't seem to squeak anywhere near long enough, though. Sam warily waited and jumped when Kirk started back down the stairs in a rush.

"Blasted dog is already almost out of food. How many bags can he go through in a damn week!" She could hear him muttering to himself as he briskly walked to the front door of his place and slammed the door shut. Sam took that as her que to high tail it out of there.

"Dexter stay here, hun," Sam felt the words were a little unnecessary seeing as how her dog seemed perfectly content to roll around on his blanket, kicking his back feet around so that they were hitting the top flap of the box.

Sam walked as casually as she could down the street and to what looked like some small grocery store. It was bigger than the one she had went to before, so Sam wasn't surprised when she saw a few carts left out in the parking lot.

Hoping no one was watching, Sam sat her bag of food (She didn't dare leave it with Dexter) into the cart and began pushing it back down the street. Now that she was mobile she could keep all her stuff with her and maybe find someone who could help her. Once back in the alley she made short work of loading all her stuff up, minus the box. It was starting to look worn and Sam doubted in her ability to store it away with out it falling apart. So saying good bye to her temporary home, Sam started towards what looked like the middle of the city, with Dexter following close behind.

Again no one bothered to even look at her...until nightfall. She had already gobbled up all of her sandwiches and was beginning to feel hopeless and hungry. The dark street felt like it was closing in around her and Dexter's body was tensed, eyes constantly looking. Her strong resolve was crumbling around her and she felt stupid for leaving the alley at all. What happened if she encountered some gang? She still chose not to believe that she was in some fictional city where crime ran rampant, but she was still in a big city.

Footsteps echoed behind her, and she pushed her cart underneath the dim lighting the street lamp gave off. All she could see was a dark figure, hunched over, and walking towards her. For a second her mind wandered to that man who gave her the paper, but she dismissed that idea as unlikely. A paper boy wouldn't follow her around would he?

"My oh my what have I found?"

Sam's heart dropped as she instantly recognized Kirk's voice. She thought she had made it far enough away from his bar.

"Take my advice did you?" His gaze seemed to travel to the edge of the sidewalk, a corner. Sam inwardly swore at her luck.

"Here I'll help that pretty little butt of yours out. Ya see I'm not a bad guy, I have a fifty right here in my wallet. Though I do admit it's a little much for you. Hmmmm your ass did look awfully tight though... ," He seemed amused and at first Sam just thought that he was teasing her. Until he started to walk closer and Sam could smell the heavy aroma of alcohol. The thought occurred to her that he might not even know who she actually was. If he was always like this then maybe he told women to become prostitutes often.

His hand stroking her arm, broke her from her thoughts and without even thinking Sam drew her gun and pointed it at his chest.

"Get away from me you flithy creep!" Sam barely recognized her voice when it came out so high pitched and so feral. She sounded like a raging mad woman.

"Where the fuck did you get a gun, you whore!"

Her thoughts started to all blend together and become muddy, unclear. All she could hear was the sound of Dexter barking, it sounded like distant cheers, urging her on. Her vision was filled with a bright light, way too bright for the dingy street lamp over her head.

Then just like that it was over. Her hearing and vision cleared and all she could see was Kirk laying there on the ground. Her thoughts were racing. Did she shoot him? She couldn't remember pulling the trigger or hearing a gun shot. Was she a murderer?

Kirks groan of discomfort forced a deep breath out of her chest, and as Sam looked up she saw another woman in the process of putting away a taser. She felt her feet give out under her, and her hands grabbed at the thick metal of the streetlight. She realized that she had already subconsciously closed the gun away in her pocket, hiding it from her frazzled mind.

"Tha...Thank you," Sam managed to utter out while still trying to catch her breath.

"No problem there honey. Just doing my duty as an ex-prostitute myself," This woman had a hard edge to her, but her dark blue eyes looked so friendly and were complimented so well by her short blonde hair. She looked so warm. Then what she said caught up with Sam's mind.

"Wait, I'm not a prostitute...I'm just homeless," She cleared her throat, trying not to sound as weak as she suddenly felt. She almost got raped! "That guy," She pointed at Kirk's form, " He's been harassing me since I showed up here,"

The woman's eyes widened slightly.

"Showed up? You mean like those people the paper's been talking about? The ones with no memory of coming here and the powers and all that crap?"

When Sam nodded her confirmation. The woman seemed to be in deep thought, and Sam started thinking that maybe this lady was crazy and had forgotten about her. Reaching down she gripped onto Dexter who was staring intently at the strange lady. Then as Sam started to feel her energy coming back, Dexter hiked his leg over Kirk's still form and barked happily at his master.

This seemed to wake the stranger from her stupor and she looked back at Sam.

"How would you like a place to spend the night?"

Confused, Sam looked up at the woman with an unsure look on her face. This was quickly noticed and the woman began to laugh.

"I'm sorry, I know it must seem weird, but I know how rough these streets can be. Look, my husband is out of town tonight and it's just me and my daughter. She can be a little moody sometimes, but hey that's teenagers for ya...Oh we don't know each other yet do we?" She looked a little embarrassed, but her her amusement was still quite evident on her face. "My name's Holly,"

She reached her hand out for Sam to take and once she did, Holly gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm Sam"

"Can I call you Sammi? Holly and Sammi...has a nice ring to it don't cha think?" Sam couldn't tell how serious Holly was, but she was still a little shaken up. This was the first nice person she had met in this city and she had just saved her. Maybe going with her would be a good thing, she did come here looking for help.

"Sure, can I bring my dog, Dexter, he's kind of been my anchor,"

Holly looked down at the dog and reached out her hand to let him smell it. Once the process was over, Holly looked back up at Sam and gave her a cheerful smile.

"Of course he can. He'll just have to stay away from my husband's dogs. They'd eat him alive!"

Once they got Sam's few things into Holly's car, they started off down the road. Dexter seemed happy that he had the whole back seat to stretch out and Sam had to admit that it felt good to sit on something soft and firm like a car seat.

The trip was far from quiet. Holly was opening herself completely up to Sam. She had been forced to sell her body to survive after her parents had abandoned her here in the city. Then, when she was thirteen a women showed up and took her in. She didn't live there long. The woman had big plans for herself and offered Holly the chance to live in a convent where her sister was a nun. She had jumped at the chance, but felt like most of the other girls looked down on her there. That's how she had ended up back here. Once she was eighteen she left the convent and married a man named Henry Aquista.

She stopped at this part of her tale and looked at over at Sam sheepishly. Sam could tell she was embarrassed about something.

"I know it's wrong, but when Henry and I first met he was this poor man look'n to be something big. He got involved with the mafia. Well, he always did his jobs and now he's pretty high up there," Holly sighed. Anyone could see that Holly wasn't happy about it.

"So tell me Sammi, what's your story?" She seemed genuinely interested in her. Sam didn't want to disappoint this woman after she had just saved her and spilled out her whole life's story.

She began to tell her everything that had happened since she had woken up in this city. She started to hesitate when she got to the parts with all the weird ribbons and the man who gave her the paper. It was so strange, and she felt silly talking about them. But when she looked back over at her new friend, Holly was staring back at her with a new look of worry. Sam couldn't stop the confused what from escaping her lips.

"Hun, I think you need to stay at my place for a while. You're not safe out here on the streets. Just don't mention any of this to my husband, you understand? **Any **of it,"

Startled, Sam looked into Holly's eyes.

"Holly, what's wrong?

"Sammi, no one in this city goes anywhere near purple, it's his color," Holly could see the 'who' about to leave Sam's lips, and instead of waiting for her to speak, she answered, "The Joker,"

**AN: Ooo the Joker. Anyone know anything about Holly? I believe she has two origins and I'm kind of blending them together. If anyone can tell me another huge thing about her that I didn't mention I'll give you an imaginary cookie. It may play a big role further into the story.**

**So what is known about Sam so far?**

**Name: Samantha Lovetts**

**Age: 25**

**Occupation: Secretary at a correctional facility**

**Passion: She's an animal rights activist, a hunter/fisher, and likes to get people riled up**

**Hates: Well Kirk, and how unfair life is **

**Friends in the city: Dexter and I'll include Holly**

**Possessions: Some water and maybe a little meat left. Everything else has been eaten. A blanket, two coats, shoes and socks, pj pants, three ribbons, a knife, a gun, some rope, a lighter, and a few bucks with a wallet. **


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Sorry for the wait...again, but I don't think this wait was as long. I have so many ideas for further on in the story, the only problem is getting there. Well I hope you enjoy the sixth chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gotham City, Holly, or the new girl in the chapter. DC Comics does.**

"The Joker?" Sam stared at her new friend in disbelief. This wasn't right. She had convinced herself that she wasn't in some fictional city, and now here was Holly telling her that some crazy lunatic was real and had even been near her! She felt like laughing at the worried seriousness on Holly's face. This wasn't real, maybe Holly, for all her generosity, wasn't quite right.

Holly sighed when she could see for sure that Sam didn't believe her and stopped the car near a towering post office. The building was a combination of every shipping company that Sam could think of, plus the city's actual post office.

"Stay buckled in, I'll be right back," Holly quickly exited the car and slipped into the dimly lit interior of the building. Back at home, the post office was never open this late. Here the streets were lined with perfectly spaced street lamps, and every nook and corner looked so clean. It looked like she was in a completely different city now, but they hadn't been in the car for very long Sam thought.

She saw Holly slip back out to the car and looked quizzically at the thin book in Holly's hand. As soon as the door was open, the book was tossed onto Sam's lap so that she could slide back into her seat.

"It's a map of all of Gotham, and in the back I slipped in this morning's newspaper. It's disturbing... Next week is the fifth anniversary of when that...clown first starting causing mayhem here. They have a full article detailing everything, including his escape from the asylum just a month ago,"

Sam couldn't help but look at the stern expression on her friend's face. They had just met and already this woman had helped her so much. While she couldn't completely rid herself of the last remaining ounces of skepticism, she knew she had to take Holly's warning expression and tone seriously. Whether it was actually the villain from the comics or not, there was still a madman running around this city. But why had he bothered with her? Why was she alive if this was some hideous mass murderer?

They pulled into the drive of a cute but huge house in silence. Holly from worry, and Sam from contemplation. She couldn't shake all the disturbing thoughts racing through her head. None of her questions had any known answers.

The car, jerking forward from parking, was what finally jarred Sam from her thoughts. Holly got out and stretched before gesturing her guest to the front door.

"Don't worry about making a mess or anything, that's what maids are here for these days," Sam saw Holly start to smile, possibly from the feeling of being rich. "I'll show you and your pup to your room, and then we can find you some clothes to change into!"

Sam felt a little awkward as she and Dexter followed behind Holly. Her house was so adorable. They stopped at a door at the end of the hall way and Holly waved her inside.

"This is where you'll be staying madam! My room is two doors down on the right. I'll be right back, I'm just gonna change and get you something clean to sleep in...take a shower before you change though... in fact take a shower now I'll just set them inside the door. Bathroom is the door that does not lead to a closet in there!"

Given the chance to finally take in he surroundings, Sam was amazed. It was like she wasn't in the city anymore. In fact, the whole interior she had seen on the way to this room gave off a warm country house feel. The guest room was rather large with greyish blue walls and a huge window that arched and was a quarter of a circle. The lights from Gotham must have been on the other side of the house, all she could see was Holly's backyard. They had to be rich to have a backyard, but Sam guessed that they were a little ways outside of the actual city.

Her bed was on the flat side of the window. White, fluffy bedding that Sam was so tempted to just jump into, never minding her dirty state. A broom could take care of the mess she was leaving on the wood floor, but she figured that the bedding would get permanently stained if she even touched it. Everything here was so light and inviting to Sam.

The door to the bathroom was painted white and made to look like an old paint chipping back door. When she opened the door, though, the theme had a drastic change. The grey from her room faded out into the white marble of the bathroom walls and floor. Everything seemed to be made out of this marble. The bath tub was directly across from the door and had marble steps leading into it, it looked wonderful.

Quickly stripping, Sam had that tub running and was in to before it even reached half full. Holly had the built in shelves stocked with everything she needed for a successful shower. About half way through her bath, Sam heard the door open and saw Holly's hand slip a small stack of clothes on the sink counter.

Body clean and shaved, Sam drained the murky water out of the tub and grabbed a dark blue towel off the marble rack. Her red hair looked almost black in the mirror, and she couldn't help but notice that her complexion was already looking much better. It was pale, but her normal healthy pale.

Sam felt a small wave of self consciousness when she saw what Holly had brought her to sleep in. There was a blue, almost see through, long shirt, and a pair of short, white bed shorts. The blue bra and underwear set were almost see through as well. Is this what married people sleep in?

With nothing else to do, Sam slipped on the thin clothing and opened the old but new door to her room. Instantly she could see a few changes. A dog bed had been brought in for Dexter, and he was quite happy to use it, as well as a black leash and color. The closet was also open and Sam could see that quite a few outfits had been brought in for her. Luckily it looked like her and Holly were about the same size.

"Well look who looks better in my clothes than me!" Holly laughed as she entered the room in similar attire, only a lighter blue. She had a small bowl of dog food that she laid down by Dexter as soon as she had fully entered the room. The sound of a door shutting in the front echoed down the hall and Holly turned and smiled at Sam.

"Sounds like my daughter is home from her friends house,"

"Isn't it pretty late?" Sam couldn't help but wonder why Holly would allow her daughter to be out so late at night in this city.

"Oh it's fine. Her friend lives just a few houses down the street," Holly was already leaving the room and Sam did her best to keep up with the energetic blonde. The girl sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop looked nothing at all like Holly. Her dark black wavy hair was a huge contrast to Holly's straight sandy blonde and her annoyed eyes were a deep brown compared to her mother's light blue. The teen looked highly aggravated at her mother's presence, while Holly was only too happy to introduce Sam.

"Darla Darling, I'd like you to meet Sam. She'll be staying with us for a few days" The narrowed eyes moved their gaze to Sam and failed to lose any of their venom.

"Mom, you know I don't like it when you call me that!" Her eyes moved to what Sam was wearing. "Is she another of your little girlfriends? Isn't she a little young for you?" The word girlfriends held so much anger. Sam was kind of scared of this kid.

"Well she is a girl and she is my friend. Now you are to be nice to Sammy, is that clear?"

The teenager let a noise of annoyance leave her lips as she gathered up her belongings and headed to what Sam could only guess was her room. That girl was intense.

"Sorry about her. She's been this way since she found out about her father's job. She's always been a bright, good girl, in fact, she was probably doing extra homework on her laptop right then," Holly turned to her with a cheery smile on her face. Sam could see every detail of the woman's face get brighter and brighter until the light was too overwhelming.

Suddenly Holly turned around, and reaching behind her, pulled Sam to the ground. An explosion ripped apart the kitchen wall in front of them, followed by dust and debris hitting their backs. Sam couldn't see, there was so much dust the same color as the pure white wooden walls. Light was bouncing around everywhere.

Dexter was at her side in an instant, letting out a feral growl as a silhouette started to appear through the thick billowing dust clouds. Sam tried to find Holly but her vision was so limited that she got too caught up in trying to focus her eyes. Dexter's snarls came too late as a hand reached out and grabbed a hold of Sam's arm. Another hand came down on her head. The next time Sam opened her eyes, all she could see was black...and purple.

**AN: What'd you think? Tell me by pressing that pretty button and leaving a review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Well Howdy! Here is Chapter Number 7! And I believe many of you will be quite happy with who finally makes an appearance.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gotham City, or the Joker and Holly. I do own Sam, Dexter, and the late George.**

_ "Thump"_

"You. Do. Not. Make **ME **move from my seat. Do you not understand this tiny little qualification you must portray to be my driver, George?" Sam could hear a deep voice growl from somewhere in front of her. No? Maybe it wasn't deep, it sounded high at the end. Maybe a little insane.

She could hear whispering and shuffling too. What was going on?

_"BANG! Screeeeeeeeeeecraaaaashhhhh!"_

Sam didn't know where she was. It felt like she was in the air, was she rolling or was she still? Her body felt like it had found gravity again, as she was pulled with great force into something hard, something metal. The left side of her body was on fire. White hot fire, streaming through her nerves and vessels. Something strong was gripping her arms, pulling her out of this imaginary fire, and she felt like she was flying once more. That's when she could hear the screaming and her eyes flashed open.

Her screams died down to whimpers, when she saw whose arms she was in. The first color her eyes saw was the purple of his jacket. Her mind being brought back to what Holly had said to her back in the car, before the explosion. _"Purple is his color... the Joker"_

She was being held, no carried, by some madman. Swallowing a huge breath, Sam looked up to see the face of death. Clown make-up. Just like in that Batman movie she had seen a few years ago, unlike what she had seen as a child watching the cartoon. Her eyes roamed in the dark for the protruding scars elongating his lips. They were there. Holly was sane, this was the Joker.

Closing her eyes, she could feel their irritation from all the smoke permeating the air. She had to be strong and she had to be brave. She was in the arms of a criminal, one who could kill her just as easily as carry her to who knows where. He hadn't killed her so far, but that didn't mean she was safe and she knew it. She could be alive right now just to give him the amusement of killing her later.

She opened her eyes back up to stare at the few details she could see on his face. He seemed focused on something a head of them. His real lips were pursed, tongue flicking out now and then to alleviate the dryness.

"Hey," Gulp. _Breath in. Breath out. _"Where are you taking me?" His movements never slowed, not even when he dropped her to the concrete ground.

"You're awake. Goo**d**. Follow behind me girly, and stay close," His arm raised up and Sam could see the glinting form of a gun in his hand, "Or else you'll end up like our little driver, George,"

Shakily, she forced her legs to stop quivering. She tried to match his movements the best that she could to keep up with his fast paced walking. A clicking noise sounded behind her, and Sam was relieved to see Dexter following behind them at a short distance with a limp. The Joker didn't seem to mind the presence of her dog, but unfortunately her dog didn't seem to mind the presence of the Joker either. Dexter looked normal; his fur was down, mouth panting, and stubby tail wagging.

He stopped abruptly in front of her, turning just in time to grab her approaching shoulders. His dark eyes roamed her face and then over her body. Those dark eyes were all he needed to make her obey. They were so fierce, so deadly, like they alone could kill her. And she knew that this was his intention, he knew the power he held in his eyes alone. That spoke volumes about how much power the rest of him must possess.

"Now uh, what can you do?" His hands were on her wrists, holding them up away from herself. She was being stared at intently, like this man was trying to figure every aspect about her out, but the aspect that he was questioning had her confused. There were many things that she could do, but none of them were anything special. His eyes were making her nervous, she felt so vulnerable. How was she supposed to answer him in a way that wouldn't end in her death? This was a lot of pressure to put on someone.

"Wha- what do you mean? I can cook. I'm not spectacular, but no one's ever complained. And I'm excellent at file keeping and organizing. Do you need a secretary? Cause if you do, I will gladly assist you with that as long as I can keep my life,"

She knew she sounded ridiculous, but she couldn't keep this bubble of nervousness down. He looked amused. He must like when his victims begged or rambled. Sucking on his lips, the Joker made a popping noise before putting both of her wrists in one hand and pulling her forward to walk with him. Her arms ached, but she doubted that this knowledge would cause him to change anything about their current situation.

"Hmmmm. Poor thing must not know what she can do yet... Quite troublesome...More of my time needed... So needy...But free,"'

She could hear the Joker mumbling to himself. She couldn't tell if he was annoyed or simply calculating his plan in his mind., but it was fascinating. If he needed her to do something then maybe she had a chance of surviving this adventure. What was this about free though? Did he think she was a prostitute too?

The pulling abruptly stopped, looking up revealed to her the curious gaze of her captor. Lips parted, Sam realized that she must have let out a fairly loud sigh. Looking past him revealed that they were outside what appeared to be a storage facility with no customers. The sliding doors were covered in rust, as were the broken padlocks on the ground below them.

"Is there a **prob**lem?**" **Maybe she should show some courage. He had refrained from killing her in the alley.

"You don't think I'm a prostitute do you? I mean you may have kidnapped me for free, but I uh I'm just a normal girl,"

Again, he seemed amused when she talked to him. He had a look of interest on his face, but instead of answering her, he merely opened the closets door to them and dragged her inside. His foot was tapping in an annoyed rhythm until he finally yelled for her dog to hurry up causing Sam to jump. The Joker called her dog Ruthless? Was he confusing Dexter with another dog?

Pushing her forward, the Joker walked into what Sam could now see was a fairly nice entrance. Walls had been torn down, and a short mock tin hallway led to a kitchen-like dining area. He jerked her to a chair and motioned for her to take a seat. Knocking the random assortment of items off the small table, the Joker took his own seat across from her and took up a stance that made her feel like his employee.

"Now, What is your name?"

"Samantha Lovetts," Her voice almost sounded questioning to her ears, like she was asking him to approve that this was her name.

"Hmmm good enough, not much I can do with that bit. Since there are no police records, medical files, or eh educational records about you, where are you from?" This seemed outrageous to Sam. The Joker had apparently tried to look her up, and was now asking her questions. Was he interviewing her?

"I'm from Illinois," Her voice was gaining confidence, "Why am I here Mr. Joker? What do you want from me?" His eyes narrowed with barely contained annoyance.

"I ask the questions here _Samantha._ All you do is answer them. Go**t **tha**t**?"

The fear that crept over her was impossible to ignore. Finding her voice to be lost, Sam only nodded her confirmation that she understood.

"Good. Now..." His hands stretched out on the table and fiddled with a single newspaper page that he must have brought out when she was caught in her fear, "You have some sort of...power, and **I **want to know what this... power is. You see, being the genius that I am, I have been testing you. Giving you items, putting you in situations, but never did you display any form of abnormality besides resilience. That's not your only redeeming trait is **it?"**

"I don't know what you are talking about. I'm just a normal girl. Can I go back to my friend?"

"I'm sure you thought you were so lucky to be found by that good ole wife of Henry Aquista, Dont'cha!" His voice had an added urgency to it, like he was about to make a point that was of high importance to him. " But what I bet, no what I know, she didn't tell you is that she is in league with all of **them.** But of course she is, her husband is in the mob after all. She is a seeker. Her job is to seek out all the vulnerable little girlies like you, draw out their powers and. Sell. Them. To the highest bidder!"

Stopping himself, he seemed to take in the look of denial on her face before continuing on. His hand wrapped itself around her small chin and created an almost soothing movement.

"You see, I rescued you from them. Instead of being dissected and analyzed in some big government facility owned by Lex Luthor, you can work for me. Do as I say, or die. It's that simple. Now Grunt, stand." Up until the end, he had almost really seemed to want to comfort her. His voice had been quiet and smooth, and then harsh and demanding when he ordered her to stand. Which she did immediately.

Hands in his grasp again, Sam was pulled to another door of a storage room. This one she noticed, had a new lock installed above the handle. With his one free hand, the Joker kneeled down and yanked the door up to its highest point. It was a spacious unit, Sam noted. There was a mattress on a box spring, its blanket was a startling bright blue with little yellow cartoon ducks plastered all over it. Obviously people must have abandoned stuff here before the place closed down. Next to the bed, there was a bulky chest of drawers. Sam could see why that would get abandoned.

"Ruthless here will be guarding this door at night. Only I may open it," He was twirling a small key ring around his index finger, catching the keys every time they came around to his open hand. Despite concern for her safety, Sam couldn't take this anymore. All this news still spiraling in her head was driving her mad.

"His name is Dexter, and yes he is guarding the door, but not from the side that you are thinking of," Her voice was strong, but calm as she met his eyes with a steady gaze of her own. Not knowing what to expect, her body was startled to be thrown into the metal wall beside the door. Gasping for breath was futile with his hand blocking her airway. Fingers grasping and digging into the metal, all that was able to work correctly with his body flesh against hers was her mind. Mentally all she was capable of was calling for Dexter to help, for someone to help her.

Her eyes were still open, trying to stare into the eyes of her attacker. The edges of her vision were quickly turning black, and her alarmed mind was getting fuzzy. Still she could barely see his eyes, just enough that she noticed when they widened and were jerked out of her narrowed line of sight.

Coughing life back into her lungs against the metal, alarm came back and her eyes darted everywhere for sights of the Joker. What she found was an enraged clown, cornered by five rottweilers. Dexter was in the middle of the group, snapping his fierce jaws at the killer. Sam saw the Joker's hand move for his gun, and out if fear for her dog's life quickly called him off and rolled into what she assumed was now her room. Giving up his target, the dog wagged his tail and trotted in after his master, and surprisingly so did the other four dogs.

Cussing under his breath, the Joker brushed himself off, and slammed the door shut against the concrete floor. She could here him harshly insert the key to her lock, and was half expecting to hear the key snap. But the only thing outside the door that she heard next, was the irritated Joker's footsteps walking away from her unit.

Crawling to the bed seemed like the only reasonable thing to do next. The five dogs had already nestled down in the empty space in front of the dresser. She had to wonder why all the dogs around seemed to like her, but that wasn't some sort of mumbo jumbo super power.

Relaxing the best she could under the duck blanket, Sam took in all the Joker had said to her at the table. Everyone seemed to believe that she had some sort of power. Even Holly, who Sam now had torn feelings about. She couldn't be this evil human trafficker that he had made her out to be. Why should she believe anything that madman says anyway? He had just tried to strangle her for goodness sakes. Holly was so nice to her. She'd even given Sam clothes to sleep in...

Blushing a deep shade of red, looking under the blanket revealed what exactly the Joker had seen her wearing. No wonder he kept looking at her! Her shirt and bra were pretty much see through and the shorts were way shorter than Sam would normally wear. He'd been checking her out! Now Sam was full of a new rage, backed strongly by her embarrassment. With a huff, she rolled over so that she could face the wall. He probably really did think she was a prostitute.

Laying there found her restless, with hands that couldn't stay still. Writing could occupy both her hands and mind, but there was nothing to write with in the room. Usually, when like this, Sam would write down her situation and the possible outcomes of it. Mapping out what she could do, was a calming exercise for her. All she could do now, though, was think.

She had no way of getting out of here. Even if she did somehow escape, she had no way to find her way home. The only person that had been nice to her in this city was now a figure of confusion and conflict in her head, so would finding her even be a good idea? If the Joker was telling her the truth then Holly was a bad guy too, and had deceived her. Despite being evil, the Joker was very forward putting off no illusion of kindness. The only person Sam could trust seemed to be herself, and of course Dexter. Maybe even his little friends. Grinning, Sam looked at the five dogs next to her. They had saved her from the Joker, it was good to know that she at least had a gang of body guards in this twist of her life.

With that thought in mind, her brain decided it was time for her to settle down to sleep. She clutched the ridiculously cute blanket to her and drifted off to the sound of five little snores. Tomorrow, she would let the Joker know exactly what he had kidnapped.

**AN: Well how did you like it? Let me know in your reviews and numerous story alerts. Are you happy, OK, disgruntled, with the Joker? What do you think Sam's power might be? Any guesses?**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I was so happy when I looked at the cast list for _The Dark Knight Rises_ and saw that Holly's character is being used. I gave her a different last name because I made her married, but I'm curious to see what origin they use for her in the movie.**

**Well here's another chapter even though I only got one review last time.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any character in this chapter except; the dogs, Samantha, and Bryce.**

Today was one of those days where staying in bed sounded heavenly. Staying in the deep romantic depths of her dreams, staring into the dark brown orbs of the astral man in front of her. She felt so warm surrounded by all the shades of reds and browns. His eyes were the darkest brown around her. They made her feel so alive, so free. A twinge of jealousy sent visual sparks in the dream, she wanted those dark pools for herself. Red started to overpower the browns, pulsing and exploding to a vicious beat. It was as if someone was drumming in her ear.

"Get. Up!"

The Joker grabbed her shoulders and flung her off into the floor. Gasping, her hand rose to her chest as her heart beat quieted down. The dogs were at her in an instant. Licking her face, and nosing at her body to try and get her up. To the Joker's surprise not a tooth was shown and the girl was laughing. He grit his teeth in annoyance, these were supposed to be deadly attack dogs and here they were falling at the feet of some girl. Giggles were shooting out of Sam's lips at the tickling treatment of the dogs. Her level of laughter kept rising and rising.

"Enough!"

Sam froze. Those harsh eyes were on her again. She had completely forgotten that he had been what had woken her up. For a moment, she hadn't even realized she was on the floor. The dogs were just so lovable, but the Joker was terrifying.

"I'm hungry. You said you could cook," Almost out of the room the Joker turned back around again. His eyes fell on her form still on the floor, "I wouldn't recommend wearing tha**t** around the other uh grunts. They have a little testosterone problem," His words popped the balloon of fear that had blown up around Sam. She knew she had made a mistake when she saw the humored grin on his face as he left. He liked her fear, he liked that she was terrified of being punished for her actions.

Off the floor, Sam opened the top drawer and to her amazement it was lined with clothing. They weren't throw aways either that had just been left in storage. These clothes were new, some still even had the tags.

All the underwear in the first drawer looked like something Holly would enjoy, skimpy with a lot of lace Looking over her shoulder, she sighed in aggravation seeing the door open too high for her to reach. Abandoning the hope of changing her delicates, Sam opened the second drawer to find her new tops. On top was a cute black tank top. It was mostly solid material, except the very top had beautiful black lace designs. Sam quickly looked to see if the coast was clear and changed into the new top. She was so glad to have shaved at Holly's before he came and blew a hole in her kitchen. Next came a pair of jean shorts from the next drawer. Curious, Sam opened the last drawer to see a row of shoes. She couldn't believe this giddiness could come over her in a situation like this. She had seen converse wedges, but had never had a chance to try them on before, until now.

"Hello?"

Sam whipped around, snapping the drawers shut. In her door way was a tall, brown hair, blue eye'd man. He looked normal, nothing like the thug she had pictured living here working for the Joker. He was so skinny, a breeze could blow him away. Sam felt empowered around him.

"Who are you? And what are you doing in my room?" She knew calling the room hers might be over the line, this man could be stronger than he looked, but she didn't want these men seeing her as a push over.

"Woah, sorry there tiger. My name is Bryce, the boss man sent me to make sure you go to the kitchen," A smile broke out on Bryce's face, "I see you like the clothes I picked out for you,"

"You?" The thought hadn't occurred to her until now, but she definitely could not see the Joker shopping for girl's clothing. A wave of gratefulness came over her until another startling thought crept up on her. These clothes fit perfectly, too perfectly.

"How did you know what sizes to get me?" The man had the decency to look a little embarrassed.

"I...Well I do work for the Joker," Scratching the back of his head he gave a short laugh, "I'm not exactly a saint, just cute. Now to the kitchen my dear miss grunt, you have a terribly exhausting and life changing job to do in there,"

The way to the kitchen was easy to remember, and Sam had quickly learnt that Bryce would be no help in there. As soon as they were in its threshold, he let her take the lead and began wildly gesturing to the fridge and stove and all the other random equipment.

The fridge and freezer were nearly empty except for some frozen pancakes, and eggs. Sam was cooking some scrambled eggs, and was about to grab the pancakes to put in the oven when an awkward Bryce grabbed them.

"Hey I got an idea!" He tore the plastic wrapping away and took a frisbee throwing stance, "Catch!"

Sam, startled, took the eggs off the burner and took up what she thought was a good catching stance. Bryce threw the pancake frisbee and it landed in her hands with a thump. Every time she caught one she placed it on the cooking pan for the oven, and would turn around to catch another. This was fun, Sam was having a blast until the Joker showed up and cleared his throat.

Bryce immediately hid the last pancake behind his back, and stood at a mock attention.

"Boss! I was just helping your new henchwoman with the cooking,"

"Hmmmm. You're lucky you're good at what you do, Hopkins. Have you told my little Sammy what you do yet?" Sam had a bad feeling about the devilish smirk on the Joker's face. In their fun, she had almost forgotten that Bryce worked for the Joker, and that could only mean bad things for her ears and conscious.

"No, no I haven't," Shoulders sagged, Bryce turned to Sam, "I'm sorry my dear, while girls just aren't my cup of tea, I do have issues like all of us here. I'm an expert at what I do, and if I may brag, even the boss here is envious of my extreme skills," Sam cut a quick glance and saw the Joker's brow raised at the boldness of his employee. Instead of attacking him like he did Sam the night before, the Joker just seemed to grit his teeth and bare with it. Bryce must really be good.

"You see, I have a problem with stalking women. Now now my dear, don't move away from me! It's not a sexual thing I swear! The body of a woman is just so ethereal!" Bryce was doing his best to win Sam over, and Sam just couldn't hate him. He looked so young, and the shame on his face reminded Sam of a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Oh but that's not all, now is i**t**, Hop-kins?" Why was the Joker doing this to the poor man? He only seemed to want to be Sam's friend.

"No it's not... Sam?" He looked up at her with pleading eyes, "I have some problems with uhh cannibalism..."

The look on Sam's face could only be described as shock. Who in this city could she trust not to kill her? Everyone she had met was either rude or had some dark motive behind their kindness. She had thought she was having fun with Bryce, but was he just coming up with ways to fillet her? Examining the way her muscles move? Estimating her fat content?

She could see the hurt on his face, and instantly her thoughts changed to why the Joker would do this to this man. He obviously didn't like that he was a cannibal, and his boss was only making him feel worse. No wonder the Joker didn't attack him, he only had to speak to hurt Bryce.

"I swear I won't eat you, Sam. I only eat and stalk what the Boss tells me to,"

"And you do a superb job," To some that may have sounded like praise, but Sam could see the way it hurt Bryce, "Oh and Sam? How do the clothes fit?" Sam just turned back to her cooking, Bryce had left the room.

"Oh Sammy? Are you ignoring your boss? That's not a very good way to start a new job," His hands were on her upper arms, his mouth near her ear, "You see these are my outcasts, and this is **my** city**. **I know everything that goes on and let me tell you something, Doll, you can't trust anyone but me. They will all lie to you, this world is full of lies,"

Sam had been holding her breath the whole time until he walked away. The eggs were done, now she just had to wait on the pancakes. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to or not, but she was going to eat. She made sure to do it before anyone else came in. In a cabinet she found a mix of different plate sets. Grabbing one for the eggs and another for the pancakes, she set them on the table and decided to just leave the food there for anyone who wanted it.

"Is he gone?"

Sam looked over to see Bryce clinging to the wall.

"Yeah, he left,"

"Good!" He crept back into the kitchen, "That man, I swear! If he wasn't so cute under that hideous make-up I'd never work for him...Not like I'd have a choice, but I'd run away!"

Giggles escaped her lips again. Yeah, Bryce was definitely a friend.

"Oh no...you are a grunt aren't you, sugar?"

Sam nodded her head in confusion. That was what the Joker had been calling her.

"That means you have to wear one of those ghoulish masks...Maybe! Maybe he'll let you wear something a little more...pretty. Since you are a girl and all,"

"That's not really my biggest concern right now," Her smile faltered as she told Bryce about everything that had happened to her, and about how much she missed her family and her job. Bryce was very supportive. He seemed to be full of this caring energy, a lot like Holly. He listened to everything she had to say and not once intertupted. A pang in her gut brought Sam out of her self pitying.

"Oh ow, Bryce where's the bathroom? I really have to go,"

She spent the rest of the day with Bryce introducing her to the rest of the grunts. The whole time he held himself with a dignified air and a smile on his face, but Sam could see the lie. He still held that shame in his eyes from before.

Bryce seemed oblivious to the utter dislike the men seemed to have for her already. Was it because she was a girl? The leering glares of the men were starting to make her shiver with discomfort.

As soon as the shivers started, the dogs were at her side. At the sight of her circle of pooches, most of the men cowered away, so Sam kneeled down in the middle of the group and started petting them. She let them know how good they were, and how much she appreciated their protection. Her reward was the prize of licks and paws all over her lap.

The storage building had turned cold by the time Sam was ready to go back to her room. She hadn't seen the Joker since their encounter in the kitchen, but she assumed he had been back to eat. She had convinced Bryce that she could go back to her room on her own. He wasn't too thrilled with leaving her, but his room was in the back of the place and her's was in the front. He would have to completely backtrack. She had the dogs to escort her anyway. When they got close to the room, Dexter and the rest of the dogs started growling. Correctly, Sam guessed that the Joker was waiting for her somewhere.

Hushing the dogs, she continued into the room with the dogs at her heels. Well she thought the dogs were at her heels, but the instant she walked through the entrance, the door slammed down.

"Sam, Sam, Sam, what am I going to do with you, hmmm?" He was circling her closely, trying to unnerve her. It was working, but she wouldn't let him know that. She was tired of showing him her fear. He obviously had plans for her, so why then should she be afraid of him killing her?

"You could always let me go,"

His chuckles sounded dark right by her ear. The racket the dogs were making attacking the door just couldn't drown out his dark voice.

"Now why would I do that? Just where would you go _Samantha, hmmmm_? Back to that uh friend of yours? No no no that wouldn't do at all. Your powers would just get put to waste in some black market laboratory, not to mention you. You would be put to waste," His circling was sluggish and dizzy. Every time around he'd end up closer, every time he spoke he'd slow down to make sure his lips were almost touching her ears, "You don't want that do you? Why live at all if you can't be free?"

He was too close. Sam could feel every breath this man took and released. How could he talk of freedom? She wouldn't be free here with him, she'd be locked up in some storage room waiting to be ordered around. That wasn't her and she wasn't about to let it be either. He had to have Holly wrong, in fact he had to be lying about her. Holly would let her live with her family until she could find her way home.

_But what about Bryce? Are you so evil that you'd just leave him here? You saw how the other men looked at him, like he was some freak! Holly has a family. Bryce is all alone._

Taking a deep breath, Sam turned around and landed a hand on the Joker's chest, giving her some room. She saw the dangerous gleam to his eyes, but she forced herself to ignore it. She had to stand up for herself, she wasn't some terrified, mentally insane goon, she was Samantha Lovetts and she knew how to handle herself.

"Do I have a choice in the matter or something? I haven't had any control or _freedom_ since I woke up in this city have I?" Sam pulled her lips up into a snarl, trying to go for intimidating. Whether it was or not depended on the audience.

"Hmmmm," The sound vibrated against his lips. He seemed to be studying her again, probably shocked that she wasn't crying or groveling at his feet yet, "No, no you haven't,"

He clapped his hands like some decision had been made, and grabbed her shoulders. He was standing in front of her now, examining her. She was starting to sweat. He was just standing there, touching her and staring at her. It was almost like he was looking through her. She could feel his fingers twitch, like he was lightly massaging her shoulders, only it was far from pleasant. His fingers clamped down into Sam's muscles, and she let out a holler as she was thrown against the wall.

He gave her no time to recover, and had her wrists held above her head with one hand. He was too tall, she was forced to stand on her toes. Now, Sam regretted all the flex exercises she kept putting off. If he kept her like this for long her legs were going to hurt bad. The Joker's free hand left the confines of his pocket with a knife that was flicked open instantly.

Sam could feel her body start to shake against the constraint of his hand. She wasn't sure if her legs were just getting tired or if she was also shaking in fear. It was hard to mask her fear when a mad man brings out a knife. All the bravado that she had worked up was slipping away at the sight of the sharp, silver blade.

"I think you should be a little more...grateful to me, Sam. You see I didn't have to help you, no not at all. I could have left you there with nothing, but no no _I _was so generous. Two guys dead so that you could have clothes and money. You did like the money right? I uh... I even wrapped it up in nice little bows for ya," The knife caressed the sides of her face with mock tenderness causing her body to quiver in fear, " I even gave you a dog! Now that one, that one I almost didn't do. See those mongrels out there have been going through their uh training and all that jazz. I have to admit, I wasn't even sure that he wouldn't rip your pretty little face right off!" He was loving this. She was drawn to his eyes, they looked so crazed, and the flat of the knife was moving with more and more force as he laughed at whatever he found funny. His laughter was so infuriating.

"What's so funny? Is it that you can't train your own dogs to defend you? To obey you?" She bit down on her lip hard not quite sure what was getting into her. She couldn't keep her mouth shut even with a knife in her face. That same knife was getting awfully close to her throat now.

"You see, this attitude of yours just won't do. It makes me want to uh shut you up," His knife pressed down on her throat as he leaned closer to her to whisper in her ear, "What can I do, Sam, to make you shut up?"

Lips pursed, Sam tried her hardest to keep her breathing down, and her chest still. She couldn't ask to be let go again, he'd probably shut her up for good if she did. Her mind was racing to come up with an answer that wouldn't get her killed. The only thing she could think of was Bryce telling her about the masks. Like that was actually important, but her mind felt foggy.

"Not make me where an ugly mask?" Her lips barely moved, but he was close enough to hear. He had taken a lock of her red hair in his fingers, and was twirling it around as he chuckled. Soon the knife was covered in the hair he had spun, and his chuckles escalated into laughter.

"Ooh that can be done. Why would I make such a pretty little thing like yourself, look like one of my repulsive men?" A few strands of her hair came loose with the knife as he unraveled it from her locks, " No you won't be with them. I have special jobs for you,"

A wave of nausea hit Sam. This could be bad. She was in a storage building filled with men, what did he mean?

"What kind of special jobs?" He voice came out breathy. Every time he brought out this fear of him in her, she hated him. She was not a fearful person.

"Nothing like that you little minx," His anger seemed to have left for the moment, replaced by a loathsome humor, "I may be far from a prude, _but_ I need you to be my uh pretty face. I just get soo many invitations to all these luxurious events but I just stand out a little. Too. Much," He was smirking at her now.

"And I'm supposed to?" She was growing tired of her bi polar confidence. One moment she felt like a mouse and then suddenly she'd feel like a queen, entitled to everything.

"You will attend what I tell you to. You will get close to the...socialites. Learn their names, where they go...Make them accept you...and any other task I tell you to do," His voice was firm, filled with an intensity that completely contradicted how slow he was speaking. She couldn't help but wonder what those other tasks would be, but at the moment she was just happy that he was moving away from her and putting the knife back in his pocket.

"Who goes grocery shopping?" Her stomach was rumbling, and she knew there wouldn't be anything left in the kitchen. Maybe he would let her go shopping too. Like he said, she had no where to go, and she was agreeing to attend events.

"The grunts go whenever they get hungry," He was pacing around her room now, eyeing everything, even the empty space.

"There's no food here. How am I supposed to cook for you if I have nothing to cook with?" She had his attention, maybe she could get a little freedom after all. He seemed to ponder this.

"You can go with Hopkins tomorrow. If you try to run..." The knife was out again being twirled between his fingers, "I won't be the one to kill you, you'll be shot on the spot,"

Sam gave him a nod, telling him she understood. He had her figured out. He knew she wouldn't run from Bryce, and she had no doubt that Bryce would kill her if the Joker told him to. They may have hit it off today, and he may be the closest thing she had to a friend here, but he worked for the Joker. And from what she heard being around his men, everyone feared the Joker.

He had opened her door, and was about to leave when a question came to her. Throughout his dialogue, her mind had been so fuzzy with fear that only now was she beginning to put together all that he had said.

"If you were watching me, why didn't you just make me go with you? Why let me sleep in that alley for even one night?" The sound of her voice made him turn around and look in her direction. To him the answer was obvious, he had been testing her. Seeing what all she would do with the resources and obstacles she was given. But he doubted that she would understand how much control he had in Gotham. The men in the bar were his, and they had over heard her conversation with that unruly bartender, and they had been sacrificed for her beginning. From that point on, he had known every step she took to acquire every thing she needed. He had no use for someone who was too weak to survive a few nights on the streets of Gotham.

"What fun would that have been?" Was all he said to her as he left the perimeter of her room. She was waiting on him to shut the door so that she could change. He almost wished he'd left her out there a little longer, make her lose some of her modesty, but something had intervened and that meddlesome mob wife had found her. Now five of his dogs had chosen her over him. The thought of killing them had crossed his mind, but then he had thought of the positives this presented. The knowledge that she was the only girl in this place hadn't escaped him, and this way he didn't have kill his depleting number of men if they decided to get _distracted_ from their jobs and wander over to her room at night.

At the irritating noise of Sam's foot tapping, the Joker gave her a sinister grin and slid the door shut. He reached for the key, and locked her door up tight for the night.

**AN: This one turned out a little longer than the previous chapters. I just had so much trouble finding a good place to end it. I hope you liked the Joker at the end, well I hope you liked the Joker the whole time. Sam may be a nice person, but she's not naïve to the way people like the Joker's men work. Also I think next chapter I may fully bring out Sam's power for the Joker and herself to see, or at least give it a big kick start in the Joker's head.**

**Now I want some more reviews before next chapter! I know the number of reviews is something that really pulls me into a new story, so Review! Review! I have a bunch of story alerts and favorites, but those don't get shown with the summary.**

**And I promise this story is going somewhere. I have so many plot ideas, I just have to get there. I agree with the review that Moka-girl left, I feel like I am rushing everything to get to the really good stuff.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I'm back with another chapter! This one just seemed to roll right out. I have to give a big thank you to Misplaced Levity, who gave me a wonderful review for last chapter. It was so awesome that I had to have my mom read it! :)**

**Disclaimer: All DC material including Gotham, The Joker, and Batman belong to DC Comics, and I only own my OCs. **

Sam woke up on her own the next morning. The dogs were still lazing about on the floor and the door to her room was still securely shut. She took this time to change into a rose printed white tank top, black jeans, and a black cardigan jacket. She could hear the rain falling on the roof of the storage building, but that didn't do anything to reduce the happiness that grocery shopping brought in her.

Sam loved to cook, but she wouldn't let the Joker know that he was allowing her to do something she loved. She could cook just about anything she had her mind set on.

Tired of waiting on someone to come get her, Sam slipped on a pair of red flats and walked to the door. There were a few things besides food that she hoped to get. Bryce hadn't thought of the basic things a girl needs; a hairbrush, tooth products, make-up, other female hygiene products. Maybe she could even get some dog collars.

She knelt down and felt along the bottom of the door for a good spot to lift. Finding it, Sam pulled up on the door, and was pleased to see that the Joker must have unlocked it sometime this morning.

"Come on boys, lets go find Bryce and let you out to go potty," Sam walked to where she remembered the kitchen being and sat down on a stool. She could check the living room area, or wait on him to find her here. Waiting wasn't really her strong point, though, and she did know where a bathroom was now. Getting up from the stool, Sam decided to take a shower while she waited for Bryce.

Walking out of the shower felt so refreshing. It was a mild surprise when she saw the towels stacked on a shelf, they were old, but that didn't shock her any. Why would the Joker and his men get new towels if someone left towels in a unit.

A hair dryer, that was something else she needed to get. Her hair never had liked to dry very fast, and now she'd have to walk in the cold with it damp. Hopefully they wouldn't spend much time out doors.

The dogs were circled around a fidgety Bryce when she left the bathroom dressed and ready to go. He looked up at her with more of a grimace than a smile and Sam instantly wondered what had happened to suck all the humorous joy out of him. The dogs weren't poised for attack, their tails were wagging and Sam noticed that he had been feeding them some sort of dog treat. If he wasn't scared of the dogs then what was on his mind.

"Hey girly, I took the dogs outside while you were in there," His voice sounded so tired.

"Is something wrong Bryce?" She made sure that her worry was evident in her voice. This was her only human friend here and she couldn't stand to see him so miserable. In fact, he seemed more miserable than she did, which to Sam's dismay she realized was not a good thing to admit to herself. How could she not be completely miserable here?

"Nah, I'm just afraid that I can't go with you today, tiger. Something came up last night, and the boss needs me to...track down a few men," He let out a sigh and scratched at his head, " I put the fear of God in some grunt, though. He'll take you to the store,"

Sam did something that she instantly knew was a surprise to Bryce, she hugged him. Now that she thought about it, he probably didn't get very much positive human contact. He'd have to get used to it, she was a very huggy person to the people that she liked. The voice in her head reminded her of how weird it was to like Bryce, but she didn't care. He was her friend now, and had just scared one of the other men into going shopping with her. She didn't want to think about what he must have said to scare him. Then a inappropriately funny thought crossed Sam's mind.

"Why would you put the fear of God into him? Wouldn't he be more scared of the Devil?"

"Oh definitely not! We work for the Devil," She had made Bryce laugh! "We're more scared of what's in store for us later on. Some of us here didn't have much of a choice in our lifestyle,"

Sam knew she should be worried about what was in store for her here, but in the back of her mind, she knew she'd find a way to escape. She'd escape and take Bryce somewhere where they would both be safe and free from crime. Once upon a time, when she was younger, Sam had been a huge Batman fan. That was years ago, but Sam knew that where the Joker was, Batman was needed. Maybe she could get his help, or one of the other super heroes that supposedly roamed Gotham. Yes, after the past couple days, Sam had given in to the truth of her whereabouts. Her biggest hope was that she was in some sort of coma, but she knew that was unlikely.

"So when do I leave?"

"Well you need to get there before it opens soo," He spared a quick glance at his cell phone "As soon as possible,"

"Before it opens? Then how am I supposed to... Oh," Being left to fend for herself on the streets hadn't softened Sam any to the idea of stealing. Looking at Bryce, though, she knew she had no choice. It was either steal or starve. She imagined that no one here probably even had any money with them. Why have it if you can just take what you need?

"It'll be OK, tiger. At least he's starting you out small," That grim smile was back, "Most of us were given a huge push into his world,"

"What if I get caught?" That was a real concern to her, she wasn't one of them. She didn't have all this experience with disobeying the law and she wasn't too keen on gaining it. Bryce gave her a pat on the back and gave her a small black and silver pocket pistol, and then an item that looked like black brass knuckles. He took her left hand in both of his and wrapped her fingers into the brass knuckles and taking a step back told her to turn it on. When she did she heard a crackle of electricity and realized he had given her something like a taser.

"Don't worry about getting caught, and don't worry about using those. Leave all the worrying to Louis, alright? All you have to do is shop," Bryce gave her a wink and helped her conceal her weapons. Then he pulled out a hair tie and put Sam's hair up into a loose ponytail and handed her a pair of sunglasses.

"While Louis doesn't have to care about his identity, the boss doesn't want your face all over the news just yet. The store will probably have hidden cameras that an imbecile like Louis won't notice. He's waiting in the kitchen for you, probably starving, so," He gave her a final pat on the shoulder, "go get us some food,"

Louis was exactly what she had imagined one of the Joker's thugs would look like. He was tall, but far from skinny like Bryce. It really said something when this mountain of a man could be scared by such a frail looking guy like her friend. The warmth that she saw in Bryce's eyes were no where to be found in Louis. This man was dangerous, but he had his orders and she knew that Bryce wasn't the only one he was scared of.

He didn't speak to her, barely looked at her. That was fine with Sam, she knew better than to get too attached with men like this. Her inner voice of reason berated her enough for liking Bryce. He took her outside, and Sam wished she could have brought her dogs with her. She trusted them to protect her, but if anything happened she had her doubts about counting Louis.

The van was parked right outside. It was the typical bad guy van, white, no back windows, and unmarked. Even in her small town, she had seen a few of these. Every time, she would call the local police and let them know, and now she was willingly getting into one. How did this happen? She had always been a good girl, and now she was embarking on a trip to commit theft. Her stomach rumbled in displeasure at the thought of turning around and running back to her room. It stopped when she buckled herself into the passenger seat.

The way there was a blur for two reasons. One, Louis drives like a crazy person, and two, because nothing stood out. None of the buildings they passed had any character. They were all grey and bland.

The store reminded her of Walmart only smaller. Louis had pulled around to the back, and was working on getting the door open, leaving her to her own thoughts. She could easily run. He was too busy with his job to notice. She was even armed, she could creep up behind him and knock him down with the taser if she wanted. She had no idea where she was, though, and the thought of leaving Bryce and her dogs still left a bad taste in her mouth.

Louis let out a grunt when he finally got the door opened. Sam took that as her sign to get this over with, like he had anything better to do. It was a good thing Bryce had disguised her a little bit, Louis wasn't interested in finding cameras one bit. Instead he sat his butt down on a crate and pulled out a magazine to read.

Not seeing any carts in the back, Sam wandered to the front and pulled out a couple from the line. One cart was not going to stock that kitchen. She roamed every isle, and filled up three full carts before she tossed in more than enough hygiene products and five dog collars. She really didn't want to have to do this again anytime soon. Sam figured they had some sort of food for the dogs already, but she decided to grab a few bags of food, some treats, toys, and bowls to be in her room anyway. They had to get thirsty when they stayed in the room at night with her.

Every time she had filled up a cart, she would push it towards the back where Louis was still occupying himself with a magazine. Now she moved the final one and saw to her amazement that Louis was already moving things into the back of the van. Maybe he was a little useful after all with his lack of patience.

The ride back started out to be just as quiet as the way there, until Louis stopped the van outside an alley similar to the one she had woken up in. He looked at her then, not just a fleeting glace, but really looked at her. It was beyond intimidating. While the Joker had a smoldering fire in his eyes, this man's eyes were so dead, so vacant. Fear with the Joker made her feel like she was being thrown into a burning inferno, never to come out. Louis, though, he made her feel cold. Like someone was clenching her heart and freezing her blood. She had to admit, she liked the inferno better.

"Get out of the van," He took in her hesitation with obvious irritation on his face, "I have another job to do. I put your shit in the van now you get to help me,"

Not seeing any other option available, Sam exited the bulky vehicle and peeked into the dark alley. It looked empty, what could he possibly have to do here. Sam was thinking of all the possibilities when Louis's hand was wrapped around her wrist, pulling her into the shadows of the narrow path.

"Hey! Let me go, you brute," Louis had her up against the wall, and all Sam could think about was how terrible his breath was. Her hands pinned against the wall kept her from covering her nose or moving her head too far.

"We have some time before he gets here for you, and you are very pretty," He was stroking the side of her face now, her hands, again, only in the single hand of a man. Why did her wrists have to be so small? Every self-defense class that she had taken in her life seemed miles away from her working mind. So instead of fighting a man three times her size, Sam tried to look him in the eyes. His hair was falling over into them making it hard, and she had to wonder if that was intentional.

Her composure fell when his hand began to struggle with getting her cardigan off. If she could only get her hand into her pocket, then she'd be a threat. One sleeve off, and a noise startled Louis enough to give her room to kick. She kicked at his knees and groin, forcing him to release her wrists, and tumbled forward out of his grasp. It was only when he started laughing that she realized she was heading in the wrong direction, deeper into the alley.

The ground started to shake and bricks were being thrown at her as the buildings around her started to explode. The second time being caught in an explosion, and she still couldn't figure out what to do. Smoke was everywhere, flooding her vision. Every few steps she'd stumble on some rubble until finally her foot hit something hard enough to force her to the ground.

She found a pocket of fresh air on the ground and took in a big gulp of air and dirt. And then, suddenly her whole body was flat against the ground. Something heavy was on top of her, pinning her to the asphalt, her body wanted to cough but nothing would come out besides squeaks. She could feel something digging into her leg and her yells of pain turned into groans as her vision started to fade. Her voice hoarse, all she could do was yell out in her mind for help. But soon her mind grew heavy from the pain, and those cries too were forced to die out.

_**Back at the hide out**_

"_Ahrooo ooonn" "tiksh tiksh tiksh"_

Dexter knew something was wrong. He could hear his master yelling for help, but he could not see her. The other dogs could hear it too, but their friend the hunter wasn't here. They didn't have time to wait on his return, they needed someone to see them now. The men in the big room were useless. The only one left was his old master, and that was why all five digs were making enough noise to wake the dead outside his room. Two dogs were howling and the other three were leaving huge scratch marks on his door.

Annoyed the Joker opened his door to see Sam's horde of mutts surrounding the door with panic in their eyes. Now, that struck the Joker as odd as he began to follow the dogs when one had started pulling on his coat. These dogs were trained to follow commands, never had he seen one of his dogs lead and track without first being given a scent sample. That was even rare and only used on Hopkins's more difficult jobs when he needed more than a human nose.

Soon the dogs had him at the door, wanting him to go outside. The Joker pulled the outside door up and watched as four of the dogs ran off in one direction and the fifth stayed behind to pull the Joker forward. Something was up and it had the Joker intrigued. Under normal circumstances he'd shoot whoever let the dogs out, but these five had been acting peculiar since having contact with Sam. It was curious. So instead of returning to the quiet walls of his make shift room, he followed the last dog into the dreary morning streets of the Narrows.

Dexter was going as fast as he could and still be visible to his old master. He had told the other four to run a head and find their female master. Her cries for help had stopped a long time ago, fueling his body with fear and the adrenaline of a hunt. The howls of his pack rang through the air, telling him that she was alive but injured. They were closing in on her location, but a chain link fence was in their way. Dexter could see where the other four had went under the barrier and crawled underneath it himself. Turning around he barked at the human and tried to urge him forward.

The Joker shook his head in thought. This was becoming troublesome, he was beginning not to care what it was the dogs wanted him to see. He had gotten the idea to incorporate dogs into his ranks for their fierceness, not their need for attention. He wasn't one for pets, and these five were acting exactly like that. It irked him. The needy whines pulled him out of his thoughts. Grasping the pole at the top, the Joker pulled himself over the fence.

The alley had been torn apart by some type of explosion. He should have known by who, but for some reason he hadn't been made aware. These were his streets, and someone had set explosives not far from his own hide out.

_Looks like I've made a new enemy_

The Joker giggled at the weak aftermath the bomb had created in the alley. His bombs were much stronger. These buildings would have been leveled, not just broken. It may have just been to get his attention, but he might have not even seen this if it hadn't been for those dogs going crazy.

"Oh yes, the dogs... Where did they go, hmmmm," The joker looked over a massive chunk of building to see the dogs all huddled around some fallen stone. Curiosity spiking, the Joker left the spot he had been critiquing and found the reason he had been dragged away from his work.

Sam was lying unconscious under a pile of rubble at his feet. This alley was no way near where he had told the grunt to take her shopping. That troubled him just a little. While he knew he couldn't trust his men, he liked to think that they feared him enough to complete a simple grocery run. He could see the van still parked just outside the other end of the alley, meaning the grunt had actually disobeyed orders to get them here. No one disobeyed him and lived. Not even Hopkins would be foolish enough to think that his years of employment would make him immune to the Joker's knife.

Bryce Hopkins did full background checks on all of his men. The Joker had a keen interest in knowing about any; family, weaknesses, allegiances, and strengths all his grunts might have. He had thought of killing Louis right then and there when he had shown up wanting to work for him. He didn't usually have people seeking him out with the intention of doing his dirty work, which had been the first thing to cause suspicion.

After his first _meeting _with Louis, the Joker had sent Bryce on a little run to gather up information on the low life. No family or friends, another thing making him wary to keep him alive. He liked seeing the fear in his men's eyes when he threatened to kill their little girl. Family was good for _negotiations. _His only strength had been literally his strength, not really enough to keep him around for, but the Joker just could not place why he had allowed the man to live.

Well it didn't matter now. His body was riddled with bullet wounds at the front of the alley. As he was reminiscing the Joker had been idly removing chunks of brick from Sam's body. He could tell right away that she would be fine. Most of the rock was just propped against the massive piece that had landed on her, and even that had the other wall to put most of its weight on. All in all this had been a very successful day so far. He now knew how to test his little doll's power.

Once the main clump of brick was off of her, the Joker dragged her up off the ground. He had been hoping it would hurt enough to tear her away from this sleep she was in, but hey that's what he gets for hoping. Now he would have to carry her, leaving her would just be pointless now that he had an idea concerning her power. He needed to see just how strong those powers were. Heck, he needed to see if he was even right!

Again one of the dogs started whining. The joker almost stabbed him when he had jumped up against his leg. What stopped him was the dog's intentions. Sam had a large gash in her thigh where the edge of the debris had been. The rock being lodged in the wound must have kept it from bleeding too much, but now it was freely dripping onto the ground and his shoes.

Pulling away from the dog, the Joker walked to the van and laid Sam down in one of the few uncluttered spots.

_Never let a girl go shopping. Shit, did she steal the whole store... There might be some hope for her yet!_

One of the dogs strutted over to him, obviously happy about something. He sat at the Joker's feet and lifted his head to show the clown a bloodied item in his mouth. Pleased that the dog simply dropped it in his hand, he looked the item over. It was easy to see that it was a standard Gotham City police badge, but to the Joker this was a sign. Just like when he left his joker cards on one of his victims. Someone was challenging him.

With a smirk, the Joker shouted at the dogs to get in the van. This would be fun. He hadn't had anyone to make a point out of in a while. And now he had a secret weapon to do it with.

"No no no, I do not do repeat performances. This game's gonna be deadly my beautiful Gotham. And. You. Will. Play with me!"

The dogs flattened their ears against their heads. They hated it when the clown laughed.

_**2 hours later**_

Sam woke up to a raging headache, and five little heads resting on the side of the bed looking at her. She couldn't resist smiling at their cute faces. They must have been hungry, waiting on her to let them out. Something seemed off, though, hadn't she already woken up today?

Scratching Dexter's head, the events started to replay out in Sam's mind. Bryce having a job to do, going shopping with Louis, and then the explosion trapping her in that alley. It was difficult, almost dream-like, but Sam could remember waking up under that building before being rescued. What she remembered seeing depressed her.

There had been a man in a police uniform with a gun already drawn. Sam had thought she could see Louis's body lying on the ground not far from where he had pinned her against the wall. She remembered thinking that maybe the cop would help her, but instead he looked at her and just started running. She soon learned from what. Seconds later, a dark figure in a costume passed by, but not before giving her a chance to see his face. Batman. Batman had just left her there to die! Just to chase some cop, weren't they supposed to be on the same side?

_But no, the Joker saved me. The biggest villain in Gotham pulled me out of the rubble, and brought me to my bed._

The dogs, sensing her distress, started whining and licking her hand and arm. A feeling of warmth came over her. The collars were on the dogs, and looking past them she could see the other canine items laid out in the room too. Bryce must have been back. She definitely could not see the Joker putting groceries away. Maybe he had ordered the other men to do it, but she could only see Bryce knowing where to put these.

"Good, you're awake," The Joker's face was suddenly in her line of vision, "Took you long enough. I'm hungry," She watched him leave her room, and a small grin made its way to her face when she saw him sneer in distaste at the collars. If she was useful enough for him to save her, then maybe she'd be alright.

A hiss of pain left her lips as she stood up off the mattress, and she noticed for the first time that she didn't leave that alley unscathed. From her upper outer thigh down to just above her ankle was a catastrophe of stitches. Looking closer she could tell that it wasn't as bad as it looked at first. She would just have a huge scar for the rest of her life. But it did look clean, someone had cleaned up her leg nicely. The rest of her, though, not so much.

"Oh Tiger, you're awake! I'm so happy! It's never a good idea for me to be in the same room as a sleeping girl, but I was strong and tidied up your wound as best as I could!" Bryce looked so relieved that Sam decided to ignore most of what he had said. She didn't want to know what all he could and would do. She couldn't help but wonder if the Joker had Bryce clean her wound just to tempt him.

"You did an excellent job. Thank you," Sam gave Bryce another hug and used him as a crutch.

"You know the boss is quite happy with you"

"Oh? Why's that? All I did was almost get raped and killed," She didn't want to think about the way Louis had looked at her, or the feeling of the dry skin of his hands touching her. So she wouldn't. She would continue thinking of it as she would something that was on TV, like it had happened to someone else. Still she couldn't shake the image of both a cop and Batman leaving her there under all that debris.

"Oh no, he was a real chatter box when he brought you back. He says he has a lead on your power now" Bryce was allowing her to lean on his side as they slowly made their way to the kitchen. Sam couldn't remember doing anything spectacular that would make the Joker happy.

"What happened when I was out?"

"I'm not too sure. All I know is that when I got back, the other boys were talking about how the boss let one of your dogs drag him by the leg to somewhere outside. When the boss came back he had a bloody you in his arms. Honestly I'm surprised he carried you at all. Especially since he had all of us carry the groceries out of the back of the van. I mean if he was going to make us go out there anyway I'm shocked he didn't have one of us carry you. But he was awfully giddy, mumbling about knowing your powers and how you were his secret weapon," Bryce shrugged his shoulders, humor evident in his face, "You never know what the boss will do... or tolerate,"

Bryce supported her until she was in front of the stove where she could lean on a counter. Sam, though grateful with how open Bryce was with her, was irritated that the Joker apparently knew what her so called power was and she didn't. Being left in the dark was not something she particularly enjoyed when it came to things about herself. Knowing there was no use in complaining about that to Bryce, Sam opened the fridge.

"So Tiger, what're we having for dinner?"

**AN: Another chapter complete! And I am dying for the temperature to go down! 100 degrees and no AC. My family almost never puts our window units in, but I got really used to having AC at my boyfriend's. It's the complete opposite of Gotham weather!**

**Got any ideas? Questions? Comments? Then please click the big blue button!**

**I love hearing feedback. If I don't get feedback, how am I supposed to know if people like my story or not? **


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